Kaloshi v. West Village Oasis, Inc.

Background

This modified case-management order concerns an action filed on June 2, 2022. Two plaintiffs remained in the case. They alleged that the owners and operators of a restaurant where they worked as waiters until late 2021 failed to pay all wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. They also alleged sex discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law.

The wage claims were pleaded as a proposed class action under New York law and a proposed collective action under the FLSA. The opinion states that the plaintiffs apparently intended to pursue their sex-discrimination claims individually. Discovery had opened on February 1, 2023, and was originally scheduled to close on July 7, 2023.

Parties’ Proposed Schedules

After a third plaintiff sought to voluntarily dismiss his claims, the court directed the parties three times to propose a complete amended schedule covering discovery, any motions to certify a collective or class action, and summary judgment. The parties repeatedly failed to provide a complete proposal.

The plaintiffs proposed a September 8, 2023 deadline for a motion to certify the FLSA collective, a January 5, 2024 deadline for a Rule 23 class-certification motion, a February 23, 2024 deadline to complete fact discovery, and a March 8, 2024 deadline for summary judgment motions. They designed the schedule to allow time to seek collective certification and attract additional plaintiffs before seeking class certification.

The defendants objected that waiting until January 2024 to seek class certification was unreasonable. They argued that the certification motions should proceed simultaneously or that the plaintiffs should waive the right to seek certification. The defendants did not propose dates for simultaneous motions.

Court’s Ruling

The court concluded that the defendants had the better position regarding the schedule and that the plaintiffs were not entitled to the lengthy schedule they requested. The court therefore directed the parties to follow these deadlines:

- All remaining fact discovery, including depositions, and all discovery had to be completed by November 22, 2023. - Any motion to certify an FLSA collective or a Rule 23 class action had to be filed by December 6, 2023. Unless the parties agreed or the court ordered otherwise, opposition papers were due 14 days after the moving papers, and reply papers were due seven days after the opposition papers. - If certification was granted, the court would consider a timely request by the defendants for targeted additional discovery concerning opt-in plaintiffs or a sample of class members. - Any summary-judgment motions, or required pre-motion conference letters concerning summary judgment, remained due 30 days after discovery closed, including any court-authorized post-certification discovery. The papers had to comply with the district judge’s individual practices. - Judge Moses scheduled a status conference for November 8, 2023, and required a joint status letter by November 1, 2023 addressing discovery progress, settlement efforts, and scheduling issues.

Except for these changes, the February 1, 2023 initial case-management order remained in effect. This order addressed scheduling and case management; it did not decide whether the wage or discrimination claims were legally valid.